Resources

Suicide

800-273-8255
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline

The suicide rate for white children and teens between 10 and 17 was up 70% between 2006 and 2016, the latest data analysis available from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Although black children and teens kill themselves less often than white youth do, the rate of increase was higher — 77%

Looking at younger teenagers, suicide is the third leading cause of death of individuals aged from 10 to 14. Males and females are known to have different suicidal tendencies.

For example, males take their lives almost four times the rate females do. Males also commit approximately 77.9% of all suicides, however, the female population are more likely to have thoughts of suicide than males.

SOS Foundation

Suicide differs through race and ethnic backgrounds. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention ranked suicide as the 8th leading cause for American Indians/Alaska Natives. Hispanic students in grades 9–12 have the following percentages: attempting suicide (18.9%), having made a plan about how they would attempt suicide (15.7%), having attempted suicide (11.3%), and having made a suicide attempt that resulted in an injury, poisoning, or overdose that required medical attention (4.1%). These percentages are consistently higher than white and black students.

LGB teens and young adults have one of the highest rates of suicide attempts.

Depression and drug use among LGB people have both been shown to increase significantly after new laws that discriminate against gay people are passed.

Bullying of LGB youth has been shown to be a contributing factor in many suicides, even if not all of the attacks have been specifically addressing sexuality or gender.

Bullying

800-829-0067
CyberBully Hotline

More than one out of every five (20.8%) students report being bullied

A meta-analysis of 80 studies analyzing bullying involvement rates (for both bullying others and being bullied) for 12-18-year-old students reported a mean prevalence rate of 35% for traditional bullying involvement and 15% for cyberbullying involvement

33% of students who reported being bullied at school indicated that they were bullied at least once or twice a month during the school year

A slightly higher portion of female than of male students report being bullied at school (23% vs. 19%). In contrast, a higher percentage of male than of female students report being physically bullied (6% vs. 4%) and threatened with harm (5% vs. 3%

More than half of bullying situations (57%) stop when a peer intervenes on behalf of the student being bullied

Drugs

877-323-3661
American Addiction Centers

Percent of high school students who report they drank alcohol for the first time before age 13 (other than a few sips) 19% 2013; 17% 2015

Percent of high school students who report they had at least 1 drink of alcohol on at least 1 day (during the 30 days before the survey) 35% 2013; 33% 2015

Percent of high school students who report they ever used marijuana 1 or more times (lifetime) 41% 2013; 39% 2015

Approximately 50% of teens have misused drugs (prescription or illicit) at least once in their life

23.6% of 12th grade students have reported using illicit drugs in the last year.

7.5% of teens reported that they had smoked marijuana for the first time before the age of 13.

63.2% of high school students reported that they have drunk alcohol at least once in their life.

17.2% of high school students have reported drinking alcohol for the first time before they were 13 years old.

Alcohol has been linked to the deaths of 4,358 young people each year, due to motor vehicle crashes, homicides, alcohol poisoning, falls, burns, drowning, and suicide.

Vaping is second only to alcohol among substances surveyed, with 17.6 percent of 8th graders, 32.3 percent of 10th graders, and 37.3 percent of 12th graders reporting past-year vaping.

Depression

800-273-8255
National Suicide Prevention Lifeline

It’s not uncommon for someone with an anxiety disorder to also suffer from depression or vice versa. Nearly one-half of those diagnosed with depression are also diagnosed with an anxiety disorder.

Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the U.S., affecting 40 million adults in the United States age 18 and older, or 18.1% of the population every year.

Anxiety disorders are highly treatable, yet only 36.9% of those suffering receive treatment.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)
GAD affects 6.8 million adults, or 3.1% of the U.S. population, yet only 43.2% are receiving treatment.
Women are twice as likely to be affected as men. GAD often co-occurs with major depression.

Social Anxiety Disorder
SAD affects 15 million adults or 6.8% of the U.S. population.

SAD is equally common among men and women andtypically begins around age 13. clinical depression and anxiety among adolescents ages 12 to 17 have gone up.

Every 100 minutes a teen takes their own life.

About 20 percent of all teens experience depression before they reach adulthood.

Only 30 percent of depressed teens are being treated for it.

Female teens develop depression twice as often than men.

Depression Quiz

You know that depression is a growing issue. But do you know the extent of the problem?

According to a 2019 study, major depression rose 52% in adolescents between 2005-2017. During that time, major depression rose 63% in young adults.

That is why we created a free Depression Quiz and provided a lot of resources to help recognize and deal with depression.